For those young adults (like myself) who grew up listening to traditional folk music it feels quite surreal, even disarmingly uncomfortable, to have to weave into an Eliza Carthy review a brief description of the artist herself, of where she…
Author: For Folk's Sake
Album: Jim White – Sound of the Americans
Jim White has teamed up with Dan Nettles to create Sounds of the Americans, an epic, eclectic 16 track album that juxtaposes underscored narration with entirely instrumental numbers. The album opens with a cover of Daniel Johnston’ s ‘Speeding Motorcycle’,…
EP: Ben Howard – The Old Pine
The 23-year-old Ben Howard hails from South Devon, comfortably nestled between the moors and the sea. Taking inspiration from his surroundings, he goes back to his youth with his latest EP, The Old Pine. Together with Chris Bond on bass…
Album: Alessi’s Ark – Time Travel
‘Oh by now I must’ve grown’, sings Alessi Laurent-Marke on her second album Time Travel. And she has. Her writing, her melodies, the playing, the whole ambience of this album is stronger, more mature and simply wonderful. She’s yet to…
Album: Sara Lowes – Back To Creation
Sara Lowes has been on the fringes of the cooler kids of the music industry for some time, having collaborated with the critically-acclaimed likes of King Creosote and the Earlies. She finally steps into the limelight proper with Back to…
Album: Hurray for the Riff Raff – Hurray for the Riff Raff
Louisiana’s Hurray For the Riff Raff make what they call ‘melodramatic popular songs’ – and sound a little like a darker Be Good Tanyas with their harsh, growly, female vocalist, banjos and resonant, deep, slow drums. It’s a formula that…
EP: Lau vs Adem – Ghosts
With their recent series of collaborative EPs, Lau have earned a reputation for pushing the envelope, so we wanted to do something similar ourselves when it came to a review. Given that the Scots’ records are named a little…
Album: Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues
In 2008 Fleet Foxes came out of nowhere with an album that was adored by those who initially discovered it. The waves of critical acclaim combined with word-of-mouth growth has made Helplessness Blues one of the year’s most anticipated releases.…
Album: The Feelies – Here Before
Time is an elastic concept for the Feelies. Their latest, Here Before, syncs naturally with their previous recorded work despite being separated by two decades. Songs like ‘Again Today’, ‘ Nobody Knows’, and ‘Should Be Gone’ will make fans feel…
Album: The Wilderness of Manitoba – When You Left The Fire
A strange thing this – an album which is simultaneously enchanting and a little bit dull. You know those records you get completely lost in, then you realise it’s finished and you don’t know where the time went? Well, this…